Solvents and Degreasers

Green purchasing guidance for vehicle parts solvents and degreasers.

Required specifications

The following have been identified as green specifications relevant to the good/services as minimum mandatory requirements. These would not be part of a scored exhibit. If you are using the Washington state procurement manual templates, the following should be inserted in the relevant document that describes the product or performance requirements.

  • Degreasers or solvents may not contain:
    • 2-butoxyethanol (“butyl”), which can be easily absorbed through the skin, damaging organs.
  • Replace solvent-based parts degreasing systems with water-based degreasing systems whenever possible.

Preferred specifications

The following have been identified as green specifications relevant to the goods/services as preferred specifications to be scored. These would be part of your evaluation. If you are using the Washington state procurement manual templates, the following should be inserted in the relevant document that is used for evaluation.

  • Avoidance of Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). RCW 39.26.310
    Statutory Preference for Products Containing Hydrofluorocarbons. Pursuant to RCW 39.26.310, Enterprise Services is providing a bid preference in the amount of five percent (5%) per product line item tested to any bidder that provides products that [do not containing HFCs/contain a low amount of global warming potential refrigerants/are not designed to function only in conjunction with HFCs/are not manufactured using HFCs/are manufactured with a low amount of global warming potential refrigerants] . Bidders who seek to obtain the five percent (5%) bid preference in Exhibit C-Bid Price must identify the products [not containing HFCs/contain a low amount of global warming potential refrigerants/that are not designed to function only in conjunction with HFCs/are not manufactured using HFCs/are manufactured with a low amount of global warming potential refrigerants] as indicated in Exhibit C – Bid Price.
  • Degreasers should include the following third-party certifications:
    • Green Seal (especially products that are certified under its GS-34 degreaser standard)
    • Safer Choice, UL ECOLOGO
    • Cradle to Cradle Product Certificate or Material Health Certificate: v3.1 at the Gold level or higher OR v4.0 at the Silver level or higher
    • USDA Biobased

Laws, rules, and executive orders

These laws, rules, and executive orders are the basis for these specifications: